Operation: Gift Exchange
by author4evr
Summary: It's time for the annual Secret Santa at the North Pole!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prep & Landing**

"Will you sign my poster now?" An excited elf called from a distance.

I rolled my eyes. Lanny. It had to be him. Once the elf came closer, I said, "Lanny, you . . . ummm . . . still want me to sign you're poster? I mean, we're partners, it's not like you're a fan of mine anymore . . . "

"You're right. I'm not just a fan of you," Lanny paused for a dramatic effect, uncapping a pen, and shoving his poster in my face, "I'm your BIGGEST fan. Would you make it out to 'my biggest fan and best partner ever'?"

Since I was in a good mood, I did what Lanny asked. He honestly was one my best partners, but I have only worked with him for a few years. (So far he's much better than Peterson although I could never admit that considering Peterson is head of the Naughty list now.) I mean, he graduated from Kringle Academy with top marks. Lanny kept talking, and I must have been tuning him out again, because the next thing I knew, Lanny was telling me that we better get moving.

"Where to?" I asked. It must have been important because Lanny exclaimed:

"YOU FORGOT? HOW COULD YOU FORGET?"

That's when I remembered. Secret Santa.

Secret Santa gets lamer and lamer every year. Basically, you give fruitcake, and you receive fruitcake. Since there are so many elves, it's impossible to know everyone participating in Secret Santa. If you didn't know the elf you got, you wouldn't know what to get him/her. I'll admit that Secret Santa is sort of rigged. Every year, every elf always ends up with someone they've been friends with for a long time. I haven't figured out how it's rigged yet, maybe elves trade with each other. Maybe it's some kind of magic or technology. I don't know. And I don't care.

Lanny grabbed my arm and dragged me towards Magee's office. Already I could see lines of elves excitedly waiting to draw names for Secret Santa. Well, seniority rules right? So I pushed my way to the front of the line dragging Lanny with me. The whole time, Lanny was yelling, "No you can't cut! Cutting is wrong"

"Look, if you don't want to cut, then that's fine. But I am not wasting my whole day in line waiting to draw a name for Secret Santa," I told him honestly, "plus, seniority rules. You know I've worked longer in this department than almost every other elf, right?"

"Okay fine. You win, Wayne," Lanny sighed.


	2. Chapter 2

We finally reached the beginning of the line, in front of Magee's desk. Magee has been the North Pole Christmas Eve Command Center Coordinator for almost 200 years. In other words, Magee has been stressed out for over 73,000 days. In a row. I give her credit; I don't know if I could ever do what she does for the North Pole. She's amazing, and I'm glad to call her my friend.

"Tiny, I need a cup of coffee stat!" I heard Magee call. Then I felt a small elf push his way through the endless line of elves towards the break room. Tiny is Magee's assistant. Without him (and her coffee/eggnog), I'm sure Magee would let the stress get to her, and then we'd all be in trouble.

After Tiny left, Magee turned to Lanny and me, "Hey Wayne! Hi Lanny! You guys excited for Santa this year?" With that, she pulled out a large coffee mug. It had gold sparkly lettering that read: 'Secret Santa: Who will you get?'

"Oooooh! Can I please pick first, Wayne?" Lanny asked me excitedly.

"Sure. Go ahead," I told him. Lanny is always excited about Secret Santa. Last year he pulled my name, and let's just say that that didn't remain a secret for long.

Magee held the coffee mug above Lanny's head, and Lanny reached in and pulled out a slip of paper that could make or break his Secret Santa experience for the year. "I'm not looking until you pull yours!" Lanny whispered to me.

"Okay. Fine," I told him. I reached into the coffee mug just hoping that I would get someone easy for just one year. I mean, there are thousands of elves so it's not like I would have had everyone, even if I have been working for over 227 years.

I grabbed Lanny, and we got out of Magee's claustrophobic office, to where I could actually hear myself think in peace. "Who . . . who'd you get?" Lanny stuttered.

I unfolded my paper and instantly answered, "Magee." As if it could get worse. Yeah, Magee's my friend, but we do have a history. And it's not pretty. Basically:

#1 we met at a Christmas party one year.

#2 Magee and I used to be together. As in, we dated.

#3 it was only for a short period of time. It ended with a sweater incident, and we've remained close friends since.

There was a bright side to this, I suppose. I knew exactly what to get her. Magee loves to figure skate, and make jingle bell jewelry. I decided right then to get her a new pair of ice skates. Not just any ice skates; top of the line ice skates. The BEST ice skates. Because nothing's better than the best.

"Guess who I got?" Lanny asked me. He was slightly less excited than before which worried me. If he got someone who was hard to buy something for, you bet I'd be dragged into this.

"Uh . . . me?" I asked jokingly.

"No. Not this year. I got the Big Guy himself . . . YOU'VE GOTTA HELP ME!" He begged me, "I have to get the Big Guy something really special so he won't remember me as 'the prep & landing elf that got him that lame gift.'"

"Sure, I'll help you," I told Lanny. It was best not to leave Lanny to do anything by himself. I learned that the first time I worked with him. And I figured if Lanny did get the Big Guy a bad gift, it would somehow reflect me, because I'm Lanny's partner.

"So," Lanny said, changing the subject, "What are you going to get Magee?"


	3. Chapter 3

Secret Santa starts the beginning of December, and ends on Christmas day.

By the end of the first week, Lanny and I pretty much figured out 'who had who' for Secret Santa. I had Magee. Magee had Mr. Thistleton. Mr. Thistleton had Tiny. Tiny had Lanny (but Lanny didn't know that). Lanny had Santa. I wasn't sure who Santa had, and that leaves thousands of elves who could have me.

"So have you thought about what you're going to get the Big Guy?" I asked Lanny one day after work.

"Not really, I was thinking maybe a Christmas sweater? Or maybe some fruitcake?" Lanny admitted.

"Lanny, it's for the Big Guy! It's got to be special. Of course, if you got him fruitcake, or even baked him cookies, you'd fly below the radar. That's definitely better than the Big Guy hating your gift," I told him.

"You're right! I think I'll make him cookies. And have my mom knit him a sweater!" Lanny decided, "You'll help me bake the cookies, right?"

The truth was that I wasn't much of a baker. But I'm supposed to be Lanny's role model right? So it's not like I could tell him that. "Of course I'll help you," I told him.

With that, Lanny ran off to tell his mom something about making a really big Christmas sweater.

With Lanny gone, I found this to be the perfect opportunity to buy my gift to Magee. As I approached the ice skating shop, I saw a pair of brand new shiny white ice skates in the shop's window. The ice skates were the best new ice skates available, and they were the pair I was going to buy Magee.

I walked into the shop, and was instantly greeted by someone who didn't work there.

"Hi Wayne!" Magee called excitedly.

I joined her over by the shelves of ice skates. "I'm just browsing," She told me, "Just seeing what new skates are out there. I've had my pair forever and I think it's time I skate with a pair that's not worn out."

"Um . . . yeah. I'm just . . . well, just make sure you don't buy any," I told her, unable to meet her eyes.

Magee looked hurt, and I'll admit that I kind of felt bad. "Why not?" Magee asked suspiciously.

"It's just . . . umm . . . I heard they're going to come out with a new pair just after Christmas. The technology is supposed to be much more . . . advanced," I lied. Magee couldn't know that I was her Secret Santa, and that I was planning on buying her the skates.

"Wow Wayne, I never knew that you knew so much about ice skates," Magee said, "I guess I can wait a few more weeks to buy skates. It's not like I'll have time to skate this month anyway, with Christmas and all."

With that, Magee left the ice skating shop, and I bought her the last pair of the best skates currently available. 


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4

A lot of time passed since I had seen Magee in the ice skating shop.

"Guess who finished wrapping the Big Guy's sweater last night?" Lanny asked me. He seemed to be taking this whole Secret Santa thing better now that I had given him gift ideas. "And it's got lights that light up, and it's sparkly-"Lanny told me.

"That's great Lanny," I cut in. I wasn't in the greatest mood. Ever since my encounter with Magee at the ice skating shop, things have been awkward between us. I suppose I could just be imagining it, but I swear she thinks I still like her. After all of these years, she doesn't think I've moved on. Well, maybe I haven't. But I have concluded that life's more fun if you don't have a complicated relationship to deal with. Why would it matter anyway? She's moved on. Something's clearly going on between her and Tiny. Or Mr. Thistleton. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure who Magee was dating.

"So, have you worked on your gift for M-" Lanny started.

"Shhh! I don't want the whole North Pole to know!" I told him, "But I did buy the skates, I just have to figure out how to wrap them without cutting myself on the blades!" I joked.

"Well, you could put the skates in a box," Lanny suggested.

"I know, Lanny, I was kidding," I laughed.

"Well, you know, there's only a week until Christmas, and you told me that you would help me bake the Big Guy some cookies!" Lanny reminded me.

"Right. How about tomorrow night?" I asked, "I can get us into THE Kitchen," I told him.

"Wow, really? That's so tinsel!" Lanny exclaimed.

"Yep. Just meet me there tomorrow after work," I said getting a little worried. Now I was going to have to get us into The Kitchen. A week before Christmas, the busiest time of year.

"Please Magee?" I begged her, "I promised Lanny he could use it for his Secret Santa gift."

"Look. It's no secret that Lanny has the Big Guy. I had the Big Guy a couple of years ago, remember? You really think that he would like fruitcake?" She asked.

"No, we're not going to make fruitcake," I reassured her.

Magee scrunched her face up in surprise, "But . . . ?" She asked.

"It's a surprise . . . please? Or maybe I'll just have to resort to blackmail . . ." My eyes pleaded and I finally broke her.

"I suppose it would be okay, but you can't tell anyone I let you in, alright?" She sighed in defeat, jingling the key in front of my face. I grabbed the key and ran out of her office.

"Thanks Magee!" I called.

"You're welcome, Wayne!" She replied.

**R&R please! (If there's anyone reading this . . .) Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

"I've got the key!" I proudly told Lanny. From the look on his face, I think he doubted I could ever get a key to The Kitchen.

"This is so Tinsel! I've never been in here after hours before," Lanny exclaimed.

"Well, you've only been working for a couple of years now, Lanny. When you've been working as long as I have, well, you run out of new things to do. So enjoy this feeling while it lasts," I explained to him. The amazing feeling of exploring the North Pole kind of leaves you after year 10.

"So what kind of cookies were you thinking?" I asked him, already gathering the basic ingredients and equipment needed to make a batch of cookies. I opened and shut drawers, grabbing mixing bowls, spoons, flour, sugar, eggs, etc.

"I was just thinking basic sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles!" Lanny exclaimed, "My mom gave me her recipe, and the cookies usually come out good when she makes them."

"Lanny, have you exactly ever made these cookies . . . alone, as in without your mom?" I asked him, since Lanny was a Prep and Landing elf, I'm sure he could figure out how to make something as simple as a batch of cookies. The question was whether they would taste good or not.

Lanny looked at me like I was crazy. "Of course I've made cookies before!" He exclaimed, "Haven't you?"

Well, I had made cookies before. They didn't come out very good, but that's probably because I'm not a baker. But that wasn't Lanny's question. "Of course I've baked cookies before! What elf doesn't know how to bake cookies?"

With that, we worked fast. Magee had told me earlier that we only had the place for tonight because some elves needed to bake cookies for the Christmas party. So if we were going to screw up, we had to do it fast. That way we would have time to make a new batch.

Once all of the ingredients were mixed together and the cookies were in the oven, I started to feel a little calmer. We hadn't had any problems so far. That was good. I put Lanny in charge of watching the cookies bake, and determining when they were done. That's the part I have trouble with. Watching cookies bake is pretty boring, so I usually get distracted pretty easily. But not Lanny. Lanny takes everything so seriously that this would be a piece of cake for him.

While Lanny watched the cookies, I made the frosting. Now, frosting is something that I can do. I even went above and beyond by adding green food coloring to half of the batch and red to the other half. Then I found red and green crystal sprinkles to top it all off. These were going to be the best cookies ever.

After taking the batch of cookies out of the oven, which by the way weren't over or underdone, we let them cool for a little while then began the fun part: decorating. I had never been into baking, but I'd honestly think about baking again just to frost some cookies. When we were finished, we had 34 red and green delicately frosted and sprinkled sugar cookies. 30 amazing cookies for Santa. The other 4, Lanny and I ate while they were still a little warm. They were some of the best cookies I've ever tasted.

**R&R please . . . and thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6

"Hi Wayne, how are you doing?" Magee asked me as I stepped into her office.

"Just stopped by to say hi," I told her, "I never really get a chance to talk to you anymore, but it's probably because it's the busiest time of year."

"Yeah. Hold on for a sec," And she turned her attention to her assistant, Tiny, "Tiny bring me an eggnog latte," Magee ordered. Tiny left the office, so now it was just Magee and me.

There was an awkward pause, and finally I said, "You know, Magee, if you had a larger coffee cup or whatever, Tiny wouldn't have to run around as much, and you wouldn't have to wait for more coffee or eggnog as often."

Magee hates when I give her advice about how to run her job. I know that. But I honestly had no clue what to say to her.

Magee changed the subject. "Wayne, I have Mr. Thistleton for Secret Santa this year, you know that, and I got him a ten free rides pass on the B.U.L.B. transit. I thought it would be sort of a fun joke since he invented it himself. Do you think he'll like it?"

I knew exactly what Magee was talking about. Traffic really frustrates me, but why have a snowmobile if you aren't going to use it? At least that's my theory. I had no idea what to tell Magee. Her gift idea was great, and I wish I could come up with fun stuff like that.

"Oh Tiny! You're back!" Magee exclaimed, immediately sipping her eggnog latte. "Oh! I almost forgot! Tiny, you still wanted me to ask him right?" I saw Tiny's elf hat nod. "Well, Tiny has Lanny for Secret Santa, and he was wondering what to get him," Magee explained.

"Say no more, I know that Lanny loves the Fruitcake Factory's apricot fruitcake. Get him a loaf of that," I said, proud I could help.

"Tiny says 'thanks'. Well, I probably should get back to work, there's so much to do before Christmas!"

With that, I left Magee's office realizing that sometimes helping others is the best gift of all. Better than any Secret Santa gift.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch. 7

Christmas Eve was the definition of typical that year. The Prep and Landing team went and came back without any problems, and for once I was actually glad to have an 'uneventful' job. Just like every year, the elves celebrated the safe return of the Big Guy, and all of the elves that departed from the North Pole that evening.

The next day was the real celebration. It was time for the annual North Pole Christmas Party. And the Secret Santa gift exchange.

Lanny was excited, as usual. So was mostly everyone else. I have to say I was a little excited as well because this year I didn't know who my Secret Santa was. The elves arrived to the North Pole Christmas tree in masses. The system for Secret Santa could use some work, I'll admit that. Every elf is required to put a 'to and from' label on their package, so the elf receiving the gift knows who it's from. When the elves first arrive at the tree, everyone puts their present under the tree. (It's a large tree. Of course there's enough room.) Then you have to find your present. The smart elves, like me, stay back and wait for all of the other elves to find their gift and get out. The waiting process does take a long time, but a half hour later I was searching around the tree for my gift.

It was a small box, maybe a gift card or a fruitcake. As soon as I found it, I shook it. I couldn't tell what it was, and it didn't say who it was from. Still, it was beautifully and carefully wrapped with gold sparkly paper and a giant red bow. It must have taken a half hour to wrap! I decided to open it carefully, and save the wrapping paper. I've never saved wrapping paper before, but I had never seen a gift so beautifully wrapped. This made me even more curious as to who my gift was from.

Underneath the wrapping paper was a box. I opened the box, and all that was in there was a slip of paper. It read:

Dear Wayne,

I'll admit I wasn't exactly sure what to give you as a present this year. But after putting some thought into it, I realized you needed one of the most important gifts of Christmas. Meet me in my office after you open this.

~S.C.

S.C. Santa Claus. The Big Guy was my Secret Santa!

**Any thoughts? R&R please! **


	8. Chapter 8

Ch. 8

Just as the short letter had instructed, I rushed over to the Big Guy's office. 'One of the most important gifts of Christmas' rang in my head the whole way over. What could he be talking about? I had friends. I had learned to appreciate my job. It had felt better to give than receive Secret Santa (so far) . . .

His secretary, Miss Holly, let me in to Santa's office. Santa was at desk admiring the sweater Lanny had given him.

"Hi Santa," I mumbled, "I got your letter, and came straight over here."

"Hello Wayne! How has your Christmas been going so far?" Santa asked.

"Well, it's been good, but I've been sort of been confused about your gift," I answered honestly.

"It's a good thing I was your Secret Santa, Wayne! I have the perfect gift for you!" Santa exclaimed, "Wayne, can you define joy for me?"

"Uh sure, it means happiness and pleasure," I answered, a little unsure of where he was going with this.

"And could you tell me the last time you felt joy?" The Big Guy inquired.

That's when it hit me. When was the last time I felt pure joy? "Uh I'm not sure," I confessed.

"Very good, Wayne. That's precisely what I was getting at. For your gift, I went through all of the security cameras that we have here at the North Pole in the last 200 or so years, and I made you a collection of times when you've felt joy, so you'll never forget that feeling again," Santa told me while showing me the disc that contained every time I'd felt joy.

I was shocked. He didn't have to go through all of that trouble; he could've given me a fruitcake like most elves do. But no, he went the extra mile and gave me the gift of joy.

"Thanks, Santa!" I exclaimed, taking the disc from him.

"Oh! Before you go! Tell Lanny thanks for the delicious cookies and the Christmas sweater!" He called.

"I will definitely tell Lanny that!" I answered, "Merry Christmas!"

And with that, I left the Big Guy's office to see what everyone else got for Secret Santa.

I arrived back at the Christmas party, where most elves were now thanking each other for their Secret Santa gifts.

"Wayne!" Lanny called to me as walked up to him, "Where have you been?"

"I was just getting my Secret Santa gift from the Big Guy himself," I answered, "And he told me to tell you that he loved the sweater and cookies you gave him."

"No way! That's so Tinsel!" He exclaimed, "Thanks Wayne. For everything. So what did the Big Guy get you?"

I held out the disc Santa had given me, "He gave me the gift of joy." Lanny nodded, and I could tell he understood what I meant.

"Guess what? Tiny was my Secret Santa! He gave me an apricot fruitcake AND a gift card to the Fruitcake Factory!" Lanny said excitedly.

I smiled. Moments later, Lanny and I were joined by Magee and Tiny. Magee was upset about her ice skates at first.

"But Wayne, you told me to wait until they came out with the new model! I can't believe-" Magee started angrily.

"Magee, I just said that to get you out of the store!" I laughed, "Merry Christmas!"

"In that case, thanks. Merry Christmas to you too, Wayne!" She exclaimed.

"So what did Tiny get for Secret Santa?" Lanny inquired.

"Mr. Thistleton gave him a gift card to Spa Navidad. Tiny is so excited because he loves their eggnog facials!" Magee gushed. Tiny nodded enthusiastically.

Pretty soon we were joined by Mr. Thistleton, who seems to just follow Magee everywhere. If only he knew Magee was with Tiny . . .

"Baby-I mean Magee-thanks for the pass on the B.U.L.B. transit, you know, it was one of my better inventions." Mr. Thistleton smiled, "So later I was wondering if you would go to the Fruitcake Factory with me-"

"Sorry Mr. Thistleton, I'm already dating someone," Magee interrupted coldly.

I have to admit that her comment did dampen the holiday spirit, but Mr. Thistleton obviously was not smart enough to know that something was going on between Magee and Tiny.

Mr. Thistleton looked uncomfortable after her comment. I could tell he wanted to ask Magee who she was dating, but he was too polite to do so. Instead he assumed who Magee was dating. And let's just say his guess wasn't right.

**Any thoughts? R&R please, and thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Last Chapter :( **

Ch. 9

Because I was in a good mood, I decided to hang around after the party was over to help clean up. So did Lanny. But more importantly, so did Mr. Thistleton.

"So you're dating Magee," He said to me as we cleaned up.

"No, I'm not," I said honestly. At least not anymore.

"You are such a liar Wayne. I don't even know what she sees in you!" With that, Mr. Thistleton lunged at me. He was tough for a nerd. I really didn't want to hurt the guy, but I had to admit that he brought this on himself. Mr. Thistleton hit me over the head with a coffee mug someone must have left from the party. Being trained for this kind of thing, the hit from the coffee mug didn't faze me at all. Thinking quickly, I hit Mr. Thistleton's head with a plate. It was the only "weapon" in sight. The blow set him off balance, which bought me a little extra time.

"Wayne!" Lanny called, as he finally noticed the fight, "Catch!" With that, he tossed me a sparkle ball.

When I had Mr. Thistleton pinned down, which by the way only took a few seconds, I whispered, "I can't believe you didn't know that it's Tiny who's dating Magee." And with the help of the sparkle ball, Mr. Thistleton was fast asleep.

"Are you okay Wayne?" Magee asked me the next day after I told her how Mr. Thistleton had attacked me. We were in Magee's office, and Magee was sipping an eggnog latte.

"I'm fine, Magee. I've been trained for this kind of stuff," I reminded her.

"You know what, Wayne? You seem . . . different after the gift exchange yesterday. I can't put my finger on how though . . ." Magee observed, "You seem like you're unfazed by Mr. Thistleton, and you're in the best mood I've seen you in for years."

"Well Magee, let's just say that the Big Guy gives the best presents."

With that, it was time to prepare for next Christmas. There was only 364 days left, and we had a lot to do at the North Pole.

**Any last thoughts? Anyone want to see a sequel? Any ideas? Thanks for reading!**


End file.
